60 Tourists Rescued from Remote Mountain Peak Amid Extreme Weather

Sixty mountain climbers and hikers were rescued from a remote mountain in British Columbia after sudden storms left them stranded at the peak, Climbing.com reported.

What happened to the tourists stranded in Bugaboo Provincial Park?

On Sunday, Aug. 17, just after 8 a.m. local time, workers with the Columbia Valley Search and Rescue Team were dispatched into Bugaboo Provincial Park, within the Purcell mountains, following a report of “a report of dramatically elevated creek flows.” “On our first reconnaissance flight of the area, we noted very high creek levels above the Kain Hut, and dirty water,” explained Jordy Shepherd, a certified mountain guide who has worked in the park for 25 years. “The hiking trail access bridge was intact but surrounded by raging water on both sides.”

A total of 60 tourists were left stranded in the middle of the flood. Thirty people staying at the Alpine Club of Canada’s (ACC) Conrad Kain Hut required extraction, as did a further 30 vacationers who were camping at nearby sites. After Shepherd and his team assessed the situation, they decided the safest way to extricate those trapped was by air. The task was accomplished over the course of nearly one dozen trips.

How were the tourists rescued?

“It took about 10 flights to evacuate 60-plus people plus their gear,” Shepherd explained. He was assisted by guides with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) as well as two ACC employees and a local police officer. “Everyone was in good spirits, but sad to have to leave the Bugaboos,” he added.

Footage shared by the search-and-rescue team showed dramatic high-altitude flooding across the park.

According to the park, the intense flooding was due to rain in the area combined with melting snow. “This weekend’s flooding incident appears to have been caused by rainfall increasing lake water levels until it overran an ice dam, and the rapid melting of the dam by lake water flowing over it,” said Nigel McInnis, a communications manager with the province’s Ministry of Environment and Parks.